Caity Weaver

Great news if you've recently entered the market to buy a moon rock that is big but not too big; the fourth-largest moon rock in the world (available for private purchase) has just been put up for auction.

The rock is a 4-pound slab of meteorite believed to have been knocked off the far side of the moon by an asteroid. The auction house is calling it "Dar al Gani 1058," but you can rename it to whatever you like once you get it home.

Because the moon basically vomited this rock down to Earth, the artifact is only expected to sell for around $380,000. It would fetch a much higher price if it had been brought back to earth by an astronaut or machine, due to high ferrying costs and space tariffs. (The real reason is that then the rock would have a place in the history of man, which is awesome, rather than just a place in the history of the universe, which is boring.)

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According to SPACE.com, three "seed-sized" pieces of moon brought back to Earth by a Russian robotic probe in 1970 sold for $442,500 at auction three decades later. None of the rocks brought back by the Apollo astronauts have ever even been put up for sale. The reason for that is definitely not that they are pieces of Styrofoam painted gray and brown to look like rocks, the reason is just.

The opening bid for the 4-pound moon rock is $170,000. The meteorite is expected to land in museum a when the auction ends on October 13th, but there's nothing (except a dearth of cash) to stop a member of the general public from snapping it up instead.

So, what will you do with the moon rock once you have purchased it as now, surely, you understand you must?

Here are some ideas:

Carry it on your person, as a tool of self-defense. Any time a stranger steps too close to you, bash the rock into their skull. Consider adopting a catchphrase like "Get ready to see stars, buddy" or "'GoodNIGHT!' – Moon."